Releasing mechanism for lifeboats



A. D. NEWCOMB.

RELEA'SING MECHANISM FOR LIFEBOATS. APPLICATION FILED 53.27, 191?.

L41 6,498. Patented May 16, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

amwmi n... .41 wt. .m

Ilium ill!!! MI! I!!!" A. D. NEWCOMB.

RELEA SING MECHANISM FOR LIFEBOATS.

1 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, IN]. 1,416,498. Patented May 16, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. D. NEWCOMB.

RELEASING MECHANISM FOR UFEBOATS.

Patented my 16,1922,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, I917.

IAIGAQ.

ALCAIIZO D. NEWCOIVIB, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ASSIG'NOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, O18 ONE-HALF TO RICHARD D. L. FLETCHER, O35 GAEE CHARLES, VIRGINIA, AN'ID ONE-HALF TO ROBERT T. MARSH, 0'1 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1922.

Application filed February 27, 1917. Serial No. 151,249.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. L, 1313.)

T oaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALCANZO D. Nnwoonrn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Releasing Mechanism for Lifeboats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in releasing mechanism for life boats.

The object of the invention is to provide a mechanism operated from Within the boat for releasing the lashings of the boat which holds it on the cradle, so that it is free to be swung out of the cradle'by the davits or free to float from the cradle should it be impossible to launch the life boat before the vessel carrying the same sinks.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism for releasing the davit hooks, so that the boat may be released from the davits while in the cradle or after it has been swung outwardly and lowered to the water. i

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap and effective mech anism for accomplishing the above results and having certain details of structure and combination of parts hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a top plan view of a life boat showing the general arrangement of the lashings and the davit releasing mechanisms;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of a life boat on the cradle showing the general arrangement of the lashings';

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, showing the lashings holding hooks;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan. view of the davit engaging hook and showing the operating lever;

Figure 6 is a side elevation of Figure 5, partly in section;

Figure 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the davit and lashing releasing levers.

Life boats of the character for which my invention is devised, are usually lashed to-the cradle by means of cables having knots tied therein and it often happens that considerable difficulty is encountered in untying these cables and it often becomes necessary tojcut the cables. These lashing cables are designed, as is well understood, to hold the life boat in the cradle; the cradle being bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the deck of a vessel. By myimproved invention, it will be understood that the lashings may be readily released so that the boat is free to swing from the cradle on the davits, or is free to float out of the cradle when the vessel sinks, if it were-impossible to launch the boat by means of the davits.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 repre sents my improved boat, which is preferably of a steel construction, and has a flat deck 2 completely covering the same, so that the boat is practically non-sinkable. The deck 2 adjacent its forward and rear ends is provided with hatches 3 and 4;, which form a tight joint with the deck and prevents any water from entering the boat should it be submerged or should the waves wash over the same. While I have shown these hatches adjacent the forward and rear ends of the boat, it will be understood that location and arrangement of these hatches forms no part of this invention This deck 2 adjacent the forward and rear ends of the boat are provided with the lashing holding means 5 and 6, as clearly shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. These lashing holding means consist of a flat plate 7 riveted orholted to the deck and has at the center an upwardly extending solid portion 8 provided with longitudinally extending horizontal .extensions 9 and 10 connecting the longitudinal vertically arranged flanges 11 and 12. Connecting the flanges 11 and 12 below the plates 9 and 10, are the pivots 13 and let upon which are mounted the lashing holding hooks l5 and 16. Thesehooks, as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, extend upwardly and have ITO the flat portions 17 resting upon the horizontal extensions 9 and 10, and terminating a short dis once from the solid central portion 8. Extending verticall through the solid. central portion 8 is a shaft 18, which is free to oscillate and carries at its upper end a head 19 provided with outwardly extending enlarged ears or extensions 20 and 21, which extend over the portions 17 of the lashing holding hooks and 16, and whereby said hooks are held in the position shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. The lower end of the shaft 18 has connected thereto a lever 22 for oscillating the shaft. From this description, it will be seen that, by oscillating the shaft 18 through the medium of the lever 22, as will be hereinafter more fully described, the ears or extensions 20 and 21 will be thrown around at right angles to the position shown in Figure 3 of the drawings; so that they are moved from above the portions 17' of the hooks'15 and 16, and thus the hooks are free to swing upwardly and outwardly. The lashings "13 are secured at their lower ends to the cradle, and have rings or loops 25 at their upper ends which receive the hooks 15 and 16, so that the boat is firmly held on the cradle. The hooks 15 and 16 are removably mounted upon the pivots 13 and 14, as shown in Figure 3, so that, when swung downwardly, they maybe removed from their pivots. These hooks are preferably connected to the plate 7 by means of short chains, so that the hooks can not be misplaced when releasing the lashings. j

The lever 22 of the rear shaft 18 is connected by a link 26 to a lever 27 which is intermediately pivoted at to the lower face of the deck 2 of the boat. Connected to the lever 27, on the opposite side of the pivot, is a link 29, which extends forwardly and is connected to the lever 30 carried by the shaft 18 ofthe forward lashing holding means 6. By this structure, it will be seen that,by operating the lever 27, both the rear and forward lashing holding means 5 and 6 are simultaneously operated. in order to hold the lever 27 in its proper position. so that the lashing holding hooks 1.5 and 16 are locked against upward movement. ll provide aspring plate 31. secured. to the lower face of the deck of the boat and passing through loop 32 carried by the lever, and a set screw passes through the loop and engages the member 31, so that the lever is locked against movement until the set screw is released.

The deck of the boat, adjacent its forward and rear ends, is provided with davit hooks mounted upon the plates 34 and 35 which eX- tend longitudinallyof the boat, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. These plates, as shown, consist of a base portion 36 and has at one end'the upwardly extending ears 87, in which the hooks 38 are pivotally mounted by means of the pins 39. The opposite 1,41 ones end of the base portion 36 is provided with a recess in its lower face, and above said recess is an upwardly extending barrel portion 39, in which is rotatably mounted the shaft 40. The shaft 40, as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, extends within the recess and has secured thereto a lever 41, which extends outwardly above the deck. The upper end of the shaft has secured thereon an ear 42, which extends over the free end of the hook 38 and prevents the upward movement thereof. The levers 41 each have connected thereto the links 43 and 44 which eX- tend forwardly and rearwardly respectively,

and which are connected to the sliding rods 45 and 46 mounted in bearings 47 and 48 carried by the upper face of the deck. lrlounted upon the pivot 28 of the lever 27, above the deck, is a lever 49 to which the sliding rods 45 and 46 are connected on opposite sides of the pivotand the said lever has a handle 50 carried by its outer free end. In order to hold the lever in a position with the cars 43 above the hooks 38, I provide a plate 51 passing through a loop 52, and held in posit-ion by a set screw 53.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the boat while on its cradle, may be released therefrom by operating the lever 27, which in turn operates the levers 22 through the link connection and the lashings at the forward and rear ends of the boat are simultaneously released. This operation is the same whether the 'lashings are released, so that the boat can be swung around on the davits free from the cradle, or whether the boat is to be released from the cradle after the vessel sinks in case it is impossible to launch the boat by means of the davits. If the vessel sinks before the boat can be launched, the lever 49 is operated for releasingthe davithook engaging members so that the boat is free to float from the cradle as soon as thelever 27 is operated for releasing the lashing holding hooks 15 and 16, as heretofore described. Should the boat be launched from. the vesseli the lever 27 is operated which releases the lashing-s and after the boat has been swung free of the vessel and rests upon the surface of the water. the lever 49 is operated which operates or releases the davit enga members 3S, that the davit hooks allow the boat to float upon the water, as heretofore described.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Lettors Patent, is:

1 d. releasingmechanism for life boats comprising lashing engaging members carried by the upper face of the boat at the forward and rear ends, and means for simultaneously releasing the lashing engaging members.

2. A releasing mechanism for life boats eleas comprising lashing engaging members carried by thedeck of the boat atithe forward and rear ends, and means for simultaneously releasing the lashing means from within the boat.

8. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising lashing engaging members carried by the deck of the boat at its forward and rear ends, and oscillating means for releasing simultaneously the forward and rear lashing engaging members.

4. A. releasing mechanism for life boats comprising lashing engaging members carried by the deck of the boat at the forward and rear ends and extending transversely thereof, oscillating means for releasing the forward and rear lashin engaging members, and means operated from within the boat for operating said oscillating means.

5. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising lashing engaging members carried by the deck of the boat at the forward and rear ends, means carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat for engaging the davit hooks, means for simultaneously releasing the lashing engaging members, and means for simultaneously operating the davit engaging means for releasing the same.

6. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising lashing engaging members car-. ried by the deck of the boat at the forward and rear ends, members carried by the for ward and rear end of the deck for engaging the davit hooks, means for simultaneously releasing the forward and rear lashing en gaging members from within the boat, and means for simultaneously releasing the davit engaging members from above the deck.

7. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising pivoted lashing engaging mem bers carried by the deck of the boat at the forward and rear ends and swinging transversely of the boat, pivoted members carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat for engaging the davit hooks and swinging longitudinally of the boat, means for simultaneously releasing the forward and rear lashing engaging members, and means for simultaneously releasing the forward and rear davit hook engaging member.

8. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising transversely arranged plates carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat, pivoted hooks carried by the outer ends of the plates and passing through the lashings of the boat, an oscillating member having pro'ections engaging the free ends of the hoo and means for simultaneously oscillating the members at the forward and rear ends of the boat, whereby all of the lashings are simultaneously released.

9. A releasing mechanism for life'boats comprising transversely arranged plates carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat, pivoted hooks carried by the outer ends of the plates, and passing through the lashings of the boat, and extending inwardly, an oscillating member having projections engaging the free ends of the hooks, means carried by the oscillating members below the deck for oscillating the same, whereby all of'the lashings are simultaneously released.

10. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising transversely arranged plates carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat, hooks removably pivoted to the outer ends of the plates and passing through the lashings and extending inwardly, oscillating members between the inner ends of the hooks and having projections engaging the inner free ends of the hooks, levers carried by the oscillating members below the deck, links connected to the levers and an intermediately pivoted lever having the links connected thereto on opposite sides of the pivot, whereby the oscillating members are simultaneously operated for releasing the lashings at the forward and rear ends of the boat.

11. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising plates secured to the forward and rear ends of the boat, hooks pivotally secured in the said plates and swinging longitudinally of the boat, oscillating members within the plates and having ears extending over the free ends of the hooks, levers permanently secured to the lower end of the oscillating members, a lever pivoted intermediate iis end to the boat, and links con- 1.00 necting the levers carried by the oscillating members and the free ends of the intermediately pivoted lever, whereby the oscillating members are simultaneously operated for releasing the davit hooks at the forward and 105 rear ends of the boat.

12. A releasing mechanism for life boats comprising transversely arranged plates carried by the forward and rear ends of the boat, hooks removably pivoted/to the outer 110 ends of the plates and passing through the lashings and extending inwardly, oscillating members between the inner ends of the hooks and having projections engaging the inner free ends of the hooks, levers carried by the oscillating members below the deck, links connected to the levers, an intermediately pivoted lever having the links connected theret on opposite sides of the pivot, plates secured to the forward and rear ends of the boat, clavit engaging hooks pivotally secured in said plates and swinging longitudinally of the boat, oscillating members within the plates and having ears extending over the free ends of the hooks, levers rigidly secured t the lower ends of the oscillating members, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to the boat, and links connecting the levers carried by the oscillating members and the free ends of the intermediately pivoted levers, whereby the clavit engaging hooks or the lashing engaging hooks be simultaneously released. for releasing the boat from the (lavits or from the lashings.

13. A. releasing mechanism for life boats, comprising lashing engaging members carried by the upper portion of the boat at the forward and rear ends, and oscillating means for releasing simultaneously the forward and rear lashing engaging members.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in the presence 01. tWo Witnesses.

ALGANZO D. NEWGOMB. l Vi'tnesses C. A. JENKENS, Jr., R. T. MARSH. 

